Table of Contents

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Conventions Used in This Book 2

What You Don’t Have to Read 3

How This Book Is Organized 3

Icons Used in This Book 5

Where to Go from Here 5

Part I: Getting Started with a Content Marketing Plan 7

Chapter 1:  Defining the Content Marketing Opportunity 9

Understanding What Content Marketing Is 10

Understanding the Google Effect: How to Leverage the Power of Search 17

Revealing the Broad Reach of Online Content 21

Shifting from a Marketer to a Publisher Mindset 23

Developing Content to Build Your Brand and Form Relationships 25

Committing to a Long-Term Strategy 29

Benchmarking Other Businesses That Are Doing It Right 30

Chapter 2: Creating a Content Marketing Strategy 33

Researching Your Competition 34

Identifying Your Audience 39

Establishing Goals and Choosing the Best Forms of Content Marketing 44

Creating a Core Branded Online Destination 45

Surrounding Consumers with Branded Content 48

Comparing Free versus Premium Content Strategies 49

Chapter 3: Taking the First Steps to Executing

Your Content Marketing Plan 51

Cross-Promoting and Interlinking for Greater Success 52

Link Building versus Link Baiting Strategies 53

Understanding the Do’s and Don’ts of Content Marketing 55

Giving Up Control and Letting Your Content Spread 60

Using Content as a First Step to Sales 62

Leveraging Design to Enhance Content 63

Part II: Marketing with Long-Form Content 67

Chapter 4: Introducing the Tools of Written

Long-Form Content Marketing 69

Understanding and Using Long-Form Content Marketing for Your Business 70

Becoming a Blogger 71

Writing Articles and Contributing to Web Sites 81

Authoring Ebooks 84

Writing Press Releases 87

Writing White Papers 89

Publishing Presentations 91

Chapter 5: Using Video, Audio, Online Events, and E-Mail for Long-Form Content Marketing 93

Creating Videos 93

Using Audio and Podcasts 100

Holding Online Events 103

Integrating E-Mail Marketing into Your Content Marketing Efforts 106

Chapter 6: Writing in Long Form for the Web 109

Finding Your Style and Voice 109

Making Your Long-Form Content Shareworthy 110

Following and Breaking Formal Writing Rules 111

Formatting Long-Form Content 112

Finding More Tools for Long-Form Web

Writing and Content Marketing 114

Chapter 7: Taking Long-Form Web Content to the Next Level 119

Using Search Engine Optimization 119

Building Relationships and Opening the Doors for Dialogue 126

Syndicating Content for Broader Exposure 128

Part III: Marketing with Short-Form Content 129

Chapter 8: Introducing the Tools of

Short-Form Content Marketing 131

Understanding What Short-Form Marketing Is 131

Publishing with Facebook 132

Networking with LinkedIn 140

Finding More Social Networking Options 150

Chapter 9: Using Twitter and Creative Ideas for Short-Form Content Marketing 151

Microblogging with Twitter 151

Uploading Photos and Images 164

Reviewing Other Short-Form Content Marketing Tools 166

Chapter 10: Writing in Short Form for the Web 171

Comparing and Contrasting Short-Form to Long-Form Web Writing 171

Finding Your Voice 172

Formatting Tips 174

Adding Value and Getting Shared with Fewer Words 175

Following Short-Form Web Writing Etiquette 177

Chapter 11: Discovering Ways to Improve Short-Form Content Marketing 179

Increasing Your Search Engine Rankings 179

Abbreviating, Truncating, and Shortening Content the Right Way 181

Tools and Tricks to Get More from Short-Form Content Marketing 184

Part IV: Engaging in Online Conversations to Share Content 187

Chapter 12:  Defining Conversational Content Marketing 189

Understanding What Conversational Content Marketing Is 189

Jumpstarting Dialogue 190

Being Personable and Engaging 191

Conversing and Sharing Content the Right Way 192

Building Relationships 194

Chapter 13: Introducing the Tools of

Conversational Web Writing 197

Commenting on Blogs 197

Conversing on Twitter 206

Using Social Networks for Conversations 211

Communicating on Forums 216

Commenting on Other Forms of Social Media 221

Chapter 14: Getting the Most out of Online Conversations 227

Saving Time and Effort with Handy Tools 227

Adjusting Your Conversations and Tone for Your Audience 231

Using Keywords and Links in Conversations 232

Understanding Online Conversation Etiquette 233

Evaluating Discussions and Tweaking Efforts 234

Part V: Achieving Long-Term Success 239

Chapter 15: Integrating Your Content Marketing Efforts 241

The Importance of Integrating Marketing Efforts 241

Interlinking Your Online Content 242

Making It Easy for Others to Share and Talk about Your Content 250

Finding Content Marketing Opportunities 253

Chapter 16: Analyzing Results and Fine-Tuning Your Strategy 259

Monitoring Your Online Reputation 259

Responding to Criticisms and Inaccuracies 267

Knowing What to Track 269

Finding Tools to Analyze Marketing Metrics 272

Conducting Ongoing Research 275

Retooling a Content Marketing Strategy 278

Chapter 17: Building a Content Marketing Team 283

Identifying Resource Needs 283

Asking Employees to Help 285

Considering the Budget 286

Establishing Expectations and Requirements 287

Finding Help with Content Creation, Sharing, and Promotion 289

Monitoring Performance 292

Part VI: The Part of Tens 293

Chapter 18: Ten Free Tools to Get Started with

Content Marketing 295

WordPress.org 295

stock.xchng 296

Paint.NET 297

Polldaddy 298

Core FTP 299

CoffeeCup 299

Google Analytics 300

Google Alerts 300

bit.ly 300

Google Bookmarks 301

Chapter 19: Ten Sites to Publish Your Content for Free 303

Blogger 303

Twitter 304

Facebook 304

LinkedIn 304

YouTube 305

SlideShare 305

Flickr 305

BlogTalkRadio 306

Podbean.com 307

EzineArticles.com 307

Chapter 20: Ten Resources for Content Marketing Help 309

Blogging All-in-One For Dummies 309

About.com Blogging 310

WordPress Codex 310

Google Blogger For Dummies 310

Facebook Help 311

LinkedIn Learning Center 311

Twitter For Dummies 312

SEOmoz 312

W3Schools 313

30-Minute Social Media Marketing 313

Part VII: Appendixes 315

Appendix A: Sample Content Marketing Quick Start Plans 317

A Blog-Focused Content Marketing Quick Start Plan 318

A Facebook Page Content Marketing Quick Start Plan 319

A YouTube Channel Content Marketing Quick Start Plan 321

Appendix B: Glossary 323

Index 331

About the Author

Susan Gunelius is a 20-year marketing veteran and President and CEOof KeySplash Creative, Inc. Her marketing-related content appears onForbes.com, MSNBC.com, and other business-oriented sites. She is the author of Blogging All-in-One For Dummies and Google Blogger For Dummies. Susan speaks about these topics at events around the world.